Utah unites against same sex marriage verdict

The gay and lesbian community of Utah as well as their supporters has united to voice their concerns over the recent stay on the constitutional status to the same sex marriages by the US Supreme Court on Monday.

State legislators and activists, while addressing a rally called in support of Utah’s Amendment 3 at a Golden Corral restaurant, connected the legal battle with religious, moral and traditional grounds.

“This sacred issue is absolutely constitutional. People have a moral and religious basis for public policy, along with other social and historical justifications,” said Rep. LaVar Christensen, R-Draper, who wrote the law defining marriage between a man and a woman.

U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby has termed the ban as unconstitutional on December 20. After the judgment, around 1,300 gay couples moved to get state marriage licenses. But their dreams shattered when the Apex Court halted the lower court’s verdict granting legal status to the same sex marriages.

The event organizer and conservative activist Cherilyn Eagar said, “Many people are in shock this even happened in Utah.”

It’s one of the state’s rights. The government doesn’t have the authority to regulate weddings, radio talk show host Sam Bushman said while raising his concerns.